December 3, 2012
We flew out of Auckland, NZ back to the States until April 2013. The boat is on the hard and undergoing repairs for the next leg in the voyage: renew rigging, engine repairs, troubleshoot electrical system, sail repair, add a storm trysail , Jordan Series Drogue, anti-fouling, etc, etc.
Phyllis has gone to an orthopedist here in Shreveport. X-rays were taken and show that they did an excellent job in NZ and she is on the mend. There should be no problem in returning to NZ in April and continuing the voyage to Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caldonia and ??? We may return to NZ or Australia for another hurricane season or sail on to Darwin, Australia and be there at the end of July to join the Indonesia Rally to Singapore and then the Malaysia Rally to Langkawi and, finally, Phuket, Thailand. That would require thousands of miles of sailing so we'll have to see how much energy and drive we have left after New Caldonia. In the meantime, we'll visit with family and friends and pick up this blog in April/May.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to All
Sunday, December 16, 2012
TONGA TO OPUA, NEW ZEALAND
Oct 29, 2011
The voyage from the Northern Group of Tongan Islands to NZ is about 1200 nm. It takes anywhere from 8-12 days to make the trip. The main consideration for this voyage is weather. The weather window has to be carefully chosen in order to avoid strong winds and seas. Even the most careful planning still involves encountering, at least, one frontal system. New Zealand in located in the Northern Limits of the "Roaring Forties" and is a key pivotal weather point for all systems emanating in the Southern Ocean, Australia and the Tasman Sea. All these systems move across NZ at some point. Most of the yachts that have sailed from distant points around the world will make the decision to go to New Zealand or Australia for the hurricane season which begins in November and ends in April. A few will find hurricane holes or moorings in Tonga, Fiji or further North.
Our decision to sail further South to NZ was based on the excellent quality of workmanship and boat repairs to be found in Opua, NZ which is a mecca for world travelling yachts. The Kiwis are passionate sailors and deal with the strong weather systems that continuously cross over the area. Due to the topography of the land, one area may have light winds and just a few miles away 30 kts. Kiwis sail in these systems all of the time and enjoy it. The place is stunningly beautiful and offers fabulous secure anchorages and moorings. Opua is located in the Bay of Islands which is one of the most beautiful cruising areas. The Southern Summer begins in November at the same time as the hurricane season starts. New Zealand is not subjected to hurricanes; just strong winds.
We left Port Murelle on October 29th, which is one of the lovely places, a few miles from Neiafu. The wind was light but enough to fill the sails and give us 4.5 kts. We continued on a course of 210 degrees for about 10 hrs and then the wind died and we were becalmed for the next 38 hrs. We dropped all sails and drifted. The seas were flat calm so we were able to take it easy and do some projects, as well as, reading. We drifted back 24 miles during this time. At one point I thought we were going to drift back to Port Murelle. Finally, on October 31st a sailing breeze came up and we were able to continue along our course line. There was some motoring involved during this time to make progress towards New Zealand via Minerva Reef.
Minerva Reef is a lonely spot in the Southern Ocean about 250 nm South from Nukualofa, Tonga. It is a good place to anchor inside a reef system and rest for the next leg to NZ. The distance from Minerva Reef to NZ is about 800 nm. Weather systems have to be monitored very carefully to stay at either North Minerva, or South Minerva. Under ideal conditions, one can wait for a suitable Wx system to sail from the Minervas. I was looking forward to anchoring there. The snorkeling, lobster, and fishing are reputedly fabulous. This was confirmed by those yachts that were a day or two ahead of us and were able to anchor there. For us, unfortunately, a tropical storm system developed over Fiji/Vanuatu and was predicted to cross over the Minervas. Given this scenario, we motored and sailed South, as quickly as possible. The end result was that we left the tropical storm to the North but found ourselves in a "squash zone" between a High and a Low. This is a zone where the isobars are compressed between the systems and produce strong winds. In our case, sustained gale force winds of 35 kts gusting to 45 kts with 15+ ft seas. This was our first significant heavy weather system and the Valiant 40 proved to be both seaworthy and sea-kindly. Amazingly, she did not ship any of the big seas that we had forward of the port beam and continued to sail along at 6.0 kts under a triple reefed main and storm staysail. The Valiant's reputation is well deserved; we chose wisely.
The exodus from Tonga to New Zealand is similar to the one down the Intercosatal waterway to the Bahamas for the winter. As soon as a favorable weather system is forecast, the hoard of vessels starts to move. We were in the first wave of boats moving South, trying to make Opua by November 11th. From November 11-16 all the merchants, important boat builders, suppliers and other celebrities in the yachting world, hold seminars and festivities throughout the week. A great place to be and experience. I'm guessing that there were about 30 boats in the first wave. A few were caught up in the Tropical Storm to the North of us and one was abandoned with the survivors transferred to a NZ cargo ship. We had friends on a Tayana 37 "Adventure Bound" that participated in the rescue and reported 10-12 meter seas (35+ ft) with 50 kt winds. They came out of this with little damage and arrived in Opua as "heroes" for their valiant efforts while standing-by for the survivors to be transferred to the cargo ship. Meanwhile, for those of us to the South of the Tropical Storm, we were undergoing various degrees of fortune and damage: mostly blown out sails and rigging failure. Our winds continued to blow strongly from the SE for two days. Finally, the winds shifted to the Northwest and blew off the land with a consequent drop in sea height. We entered Opua in late evening and found a mooring until the following morning.
November 12, 2011
We got up this morning at 0600 hrs. We dropped our mooring line and proceeded to the Custom's "Q" dock. There was no one on the long semicircular dock and no cleats to tie up to. As I approached the dock, Phyllis jumped off the boat, to take a line, and broke her hip. There she lay, on the dock, as I circled around and called for help. Finally, another boat approached and took my line. I called for emergency help on VHF 16. Arrangements were made to get her off the Custom's dock to an ambulance and then the hospital. Opua is a rather remote place. It has all the yachting facilities but little in the way of stores or medical services. The nearest hospital is in Kawakawa which is about 20 minutes away. There, they were able to take x-rays and arrange for a transfer to Whangarei hospital which is about another 45 minutes south. All of this was done in a timely, efficient manner by a medical staff that was professional and pleasant. The medical facilities are every bit as good as anything that we have in the States. They are able to attend to any medical emergency with the added plus that New Zealand has socialized medicine so the cost is ZERO. Any visitor that has an accident while in NZ is covered under the NZ Accidental Insurance Plan. Perhaps, one day, we may reach this level of civilized medical coverage: every NZ citizen is covered from birth to death by their medical system without cost.
The one thing that one sees when travelling to so many different countries and cultures, is the quality of life its citizens deserve. These range from the high quality of life and opportunity offered in French Polynesia to a low in Tonga which is strapped with an aristocracy and then New Zealand which seems to have worked out a system where its people are- generally- happy, content and prosperous. The USA is still the land of greatest opportunity but not, necessarily, contentment, happiness and the other qualities that put its citizenry at the forefront of civilized countries.
The voyage from the Northern Group of Tongan Islands to NZ is about 1200 nm. It takes anywhere from 8-12 days to make the trip. The main consideration for this voyage is weather. The weather window has to be carefully chosen in order to avoid strong winds and seas. Even the most careful planning still involves encountering, at least, one frontal system. New Zealand in located in the Northern Limits of the "Roaring Forties" and is a key pivotal weather point for all systems emanating in the Southern Ocean, Australia and the Tasman Sea. All these systems move across NZ at some point. Most of the yachts that have sailed from distant points around the world will make the decision to go to New Zealand or Australia for the hurricane season which begins in November and ends in April. A few will find hurricane holes or moorings in Tonga, Fiji or further North.
Our decision to sail further South to NZ was based on the excellent quality of workmanship and boat repairs to be found in Opua, NZ which is a mecca for world travelling yachts. The Kiwis are passionate sailors and deal with the strong weather systems that continuously cross over the area. Due to the topography of the land, one area may have light winds and just a few miles away 30 kts. Kiwis sail in these systems all of the time and enjoy it. The place is stunningly beautiful and offers fabulous secure anchorages and moorings. Opua is located in the Bay of Islands which is one of the most beautiful cruising areas. The Southern Summer begins in November at the same time as the hurricane season starts. New Zealand is not subjected to hurricanes; just strong winds.
We left Port Murelle on October 29th, which is one of the lovely places, a few miles from Neiafu. The wind was light but enough to fill the sails and give us 4.5 kts. We continued on a course of 210 degrees for about 10 hrs and then the wind died and we were becalmed for the next 38 hrs. We dropped all sails and drifted. The seas were flat calm so we were able to take it easy and do some projects, as well as, reading. We drifted back 24 miles during this time. At one point I thought we were going to drift back to Port Murelle. Finally, on October 31st a sailing breeze came up and we were able to continue along our course line. There was some motoring involved during this time to make progress towards New Zealand via Minerva Reef.
Minerva Reef is a lonely spot in the Southern Ocean about 250 nm South from Nukualofa, Tonga. It is a good place to anchor inside a reef system and rest for the next leg to NZ. The distance from Minerva Reef to NZ is about 800 nm. Weather systems have to be monitored very carefully to stay at either North Minerva, or South Minerva. Under ideal conditions, one can wait for a suitable Wx system to sail from the Minervas. I was looking forward to anchoring there. The snorkeling, lobster, and fishing are reputedly fabulous. This was confirmed by those yachts that were a day or two ahead of us and were able to anchor there. For us, unfortunately, a tropical storm system developed over Fiji/Vanuatu and was predicted to cross over the Minervas. Given this scenario, we motored and sailed South, as quickly as possible. The end result was that we left the tropical storm to the North but found ourselves in a "squash zone" between a High and a Low. This is a zone where the isobars are compressed between the systems and produce strong winds. In our case, sustained gale force winds of 35 kts gusting to 45 kts with 15+ ft seas. This was our first significant heavy weather system and the Valiant 40 proved to be both seaworthy and sea-kindly. Amazingly, she did not ship any of the big seas that we had forward of the port beam and continued to sail along at 6.0 kts under a triple reefed main and storm staysail. The Valiant's reputation is well deserved; we chose wisely.
The exodus from Tonga to New Zealand is similar to the one down the Intercosatal waterway to the Bahamas for the winter. As soon as a favorable weather system is forecast, the hoard of vessels starts to move. We were in the first wave of boats moving South, trying to make Opua by November 11th. From November 11-16 all the merchants, important boat builders, suppliers and other celebrities in the yachting world, hold seminars and festivities throughout the week. A great place to be and experience. I'm guessing that there were about 30 boats in the first wave. A few were caught up in the Tropical Storm to the North of us and one was abandoned with the survivors transferred to a NZ cargo ship. We had friends on a Tayana 37 "Adventure Bound" that participated in the rescue and reported 10-12 meter seas (35+ ft) with 50 kt winds. They came out of this with little damage and arrived in Opua as "heroes" for their valiant efforts while standing-by for the survivors to be transferred to the cargo ship. Meanwhile, for those of us to the South of the Tropical Storm, we were undergoing various degrees of fortune and damage: mostly blown out sails and rigging failure. Our winds continued to blow strongly from the SE for two days. Finally, the winds shifted to the Northwest and blew off the land with a consequent drop in sea height. We entered Opua in late evening and found a mooring until the following morning.
November 12, 2011
We got up this morning at 0600 hrs. We dropped our mooring line and proceeded to the Custom's "Q" dock. There was no one on the long semicircular dock and no cleats to tie up to. As I approached the dock, Phyllis jumped off the boat, to take a line, and broke her hip. There she lay, on the dock, as I circled around and called for help. Finally, another boat approached and took my line. I called for emergency help on VHF 16. Arrangements were made to get her off the Custom's dock to an ambulance and then the hospital. Opua is a rather remote place. It has all the yachting facilities but little in the way of stores or medical services. The nearest hospital is in Kawakawa which is about 20 minutes away. There, they were able to take x-rays and arrange for a transfer to Whangarei hospital which is about another 45 minutes south. All of this was done in a timely, efficient manner by a medical staff that was professional and pleasant. The medical facilities are every bit as good as anything that we have in the States. They are able to attend to any medical emergency with the added plus that New Zealand has socialized medicine so the cost is ZERO. Any visitor that has an accident while in NZ is covered under the NZ Accidental Insurance Plan. Perhaps, one day, we may reach this level of civilized medical coverage: every NZ citizen is covered from birth to death by their medical system without cost.
The one thing that one sees when travelling to so many different countries and cultures, is the quality of life its citizens deserve. These range from the high quality of life and opportunity offered in French Polynesia to a low in Tonga which is strapped with an aristocracy and then New Zealand which seems to have worked out a system where its people are- generally- happy, content and prosperous. The USA is still the land of greatest opportunity but not, necessarily, contentment, happiness and the other qualities that put its citizenry at the forefront of civilized countries.
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